Basement time

Haven't been on the trainer since March and it wasn't a huge surprise that it still sucks.
At least Timber stuck with me for the ride.

Pug Power

Sweet rear wheel for the Pug.

Take a closer look. Even sweeter with the MTB 2.4 Power Tap hub. This might be a one of a kind. Not in a hurry for winter, but certainly curious on the power readings when Jim, Craig and I rip up some snowmobile trials with the 3 pugs.

Now I just need to figure out the video quality and we'll be all set for some sweet footage.

You probably do not have the Flash Player installed for your browser or the video files are misplaced on the server!

2 x 40 minute tempo

Got out tonight on the MTB for some sweet tempo riding. Completed 2 intervals at 40 minutes each with an average power of 310 watts for each. Dan joined in with his road bike, which helped pass the time. It looks like the week will come in around 14 hours with plenty of Tempo work. Next week is a recovery week, which closes with a 20 minute power test on Sat. Hope everyone has been enjoying the daylight as much as possible. It was pitch black on the trail tonight at 8:30.

For those that haven't been exposed

Whack Job (part 1)

After missing a much needed Sat and SunDAY training ride, I somehow talked myself into going on a solo night ride Sunday evening. It was around 7:30 p.m. and the Moab light was charged, the jersey was filled with pop tarts, Roctane Goo packs and 100 oz of CytoMax and I was off. I really wanted to get my 4 x 20 tempo drills in so I headed West on the Red Cedar Trail and got to work. It was light out for the first two, but started getting dark fast. Right as I finished the second one, I was going over the river on the big steel bridge, which was a nice place for some recovery. That's when the siting took place. 10-15 college gals and guys, playing Frisbee in the water --NAKED--. Right when you think you've seen it all. I collected my thoughts and finished the reaming drills only to find myself 1.5 hours from home. When it was all said and done, the mtb depreciated by 70 miles and 4 hours. The whole world changes once the sun goes down.

Odd man out

The front tire on the road bike needs to be replaced so the 29er HT MTB was called upon for the Wed group ride. Stayed with the lead group for the first 16 miles, but the legs started feel the effects of last night's 2 hour ride and I got gapped and there was no way of bridging back up. A couple of the guys fell back to help out and I managed to hang on to the 33 mile marker. Then the pace line was formed and I completely fell apart. Rode solo for a few miles when Jim came past, offered a wheel and dropped me going 20mph. Suffered the rest of the way in and called it a night. All in all it was an great workout. Check out the Garmin file here.

Ore 2 Shore

The extended weekend couldn't have turned out any better. Jim and I packed up the truck Thursday night and headed up to Michigan for our 4th running of the Ore 2 Shore. We have it better than most as we get to stay with Jim's parent's on the water just 15 minutes from the start of the race. Mid Friday morning we headed out to pre-ride the start of the 28 mile and 48 mile courses. I have been training hard and got a little nervous when the legs didn't respond on the initial hills, so we called it good at about an hour and headed back to camp. Jim's mom put on the usual killer pasta feed for us Friday night (thanks!!!) and it was off to bed before 9 pm. Peanut Butter Bagel and a bowl of granola cereal at 6:00 a.m. and we were ready for some racing. I didn't apply for a preferred start so I had to stage my bike and forgo the warm up, which left me sitting about 100 bikes back. The gun was fired and we were ripping down the 2.5 mile paved roll out. Anything can happen with a pack of 866 mountain bikes going 30mph down the road, so I lowered my head and sprinted to 3-5 wheel to avoid any potential crashes. Took the turn into the woods a little wide and slightly on the safe side sitting 10. Mixed it up with a solid group of 5 and we chased until the last aid station. My strongest opponent reached for a water hand-up in the sand and I attacked. The gap was set and they kept me honest chasing hard on every section. I stayed on the gas and was able to catch the number 9 guy with a mile or so to go. I sat on his wheel as he slowed to conserve energy and we were set for a full on sprint finish. The legs felt awesome so I made the first move. You could here the XOs' slamming down to the smallest gear as we reached 30 mph. I had just enough in the tank to finish a strong 9th overall and 2nd in my age group. It was a lot of fun and I was able to achieve a year-long goal. Check out the Garmin file here. Congrats to Jim for another successful run at the Hard Rock (he did way better than he will ever let on)

My very own little rock man!

God's country

Easy street

This is one of my favorite recovery rides even though there is a little more climbing than desired. It is close enough to town, but very little traffic, nice pavement and the best scenery in the county. The best part of recovery riding is you actually get to enjoy the sights without going cross-eyed. Starting to dial it back a little in anticipation for the Ore 2 Shore (congrats to Jim C for being awarded a preferred start - he had a really solid race last year and deserves the acknowledgement)

Chad Solva sighting

Got one last sandy / gravel training day in prior to the Ore 2 Shore. Met up with Chad Solva and headed out to Butler Lanes for 35 miles of epic single track, double track and NO track. The sand was relentless in its' pursuit of sucking every last ounce of energy out of our legs. All in all it turned out to be a great workout and a bunch of fun riding with Chad.

You know the terrain is tough when the average speed is 12.7 mph and your norm power is 267 watts.